Grundy County sheriff’s make arrest after brief pursuit in Braceville

The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday that it arrested Demarco D. Owens, 25, Aurora, after a brief pursuit near Braceville on Monday.

A sheriff’s deputy approached Owens’ car after pulling him over in the parking lot of a Casey’s for an expired registration sticker, noting a weed smell with it in plain view.

Owens put the vehicle in drive and fled traveling north on Route 129, traveling a half mile before pulling his car off into a field to flee on foot. A police dog located a loaded handgun near the wood line, and Owens admitted to being in possession of the firearm at the time he was stopped.

He is being held in the Grundy County Jail pending a pre-trial release hearing on charges of fleeing from a peace officer, possession of a firearm by a street gang member, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and possession of a firearm by a felon.